PR Giants Offer Career Advice, Perspective

PRSA Tactics Magazine
April 2007

Mike Paul
President and Senior Counselor
MGP & Associates PR
www.mgppr.com

NEW YORK - “PR Giants: Helping Up-and-Coming Practitioners Grow Professionally and Personally” is a PRSA teleseminar interview series designed to bring seasoned PR practitioners together with new professionals who have questions about the profession.

Here are excerpts from one recent teleseminar, which is moderated each month by James E. Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA (please visit www.prsa.org for more on the series):

Mike Paul, president, MGP & Associates PR, New York, on the most important lesson the profession or his career has taught him thus far:

“Some of the most important lessons I’ve learned are not from the profession, but from mistakes. Much of it deals with truth and character. I think we aren’t critical enough of ourselves and our profession. Some of the biggest crises that have happened, ironically, have not been external to our profession; they have been within our profession. It’s sad to see. So, some of the rules I’ve learned have dealt with being honest with myself, being honest with clients, not putting money first, putting people first, putting the truth first and trying to learn how to do so in a way that is still loving but direct. [I’ve also learned to] not be afraid to walk away from money or the client or any opportunity if it doesn’t pass the smell test.”